Movie Mississippi Burning

Recently, in a Language Arts lesson, we were allowed to watch a movie titled "Mississippi Burning". It was a movie, centered on the murders of 3 civil rights activists. When these 3 civil rights activists went missing, FBI agents are put in charge to investigate.

Even though we did not watch finish the whole movie, the first part made me understand and emphatize with people at that time. The FBI agents fully understand the risks of undertaking this mission, but they carry on with it. Once, the FBI agents were under attack by the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) in their motel. When Agent Alan Ward runs out of the motel, he sees a burning cross, put there by the Klan to intimidate them.

The FBI agents' are similar to Atticus. Atticus fully understands that defending Tom Robinson will result in being viewed as an enemy by the KKK, and thus come under their attack. Atticus came close to being attacked by the Cunninghams, but fortunately, he is highly esteemed by them, and they do not want to hurt him.

I feel that the civil rights activists, especially the white civil rights activists have extremely admirable traits. They support the rights of the blacks, even though they do not actually have anything to benefit from it.

Superstitions

I would like to discuss on the topic of superstitions today.

The definition of superstition, according to the Longman Dictionary is: a belief that some objects or actions are lucky or unlucky, or that they cause events to happen, based on old ideas of magic.

Firstly, let us start with the word "belief". A belief is just something people belief in, not proven to be true. Also, personally, I do not believe in many of the superstitions that I know. Some people have claimed in stories about superstitions such as getting a cut behind their ears for pointing their finger at the moon, but I question the beliefs that they have.

Next, let us move on to "lucky or unlucky". When you are lucky, something good befalls you, but when you are unlucky, something bad happens to you. I half agree with this statement. Almost all the superstitions I know of are unlucky. For example, an old Chinese Supersition goes like this: For a woman to strike an animal during their pregnancy period would cause the baby to look like the animal. That would be extremely horrible. I do not even know how an ant looks like, but I am sure it would be an ugly face. To avoid killing an animal for nine months would be extremely tough. I feel that one should live like as it is in a happy-go-lucky manner. Most of the superstitions are unlucky, and I feel that one would be extremely worried and pessimistic about life if they keep worrying about these superstitions.

On a lighter note, here are examples of superstitions that amuse me the most:

If you cut an apple in half and count the number of seeds inside, you will hence know the number of children you will have.

This is similar to going by the dice. If you take 2 apples and count the number of seeds in each, you will probably get a different number for each. What do you do then? Do you take the average?

If you dream of running, you will soon have a big change in your life.

Honestly, I do not aim to insult anybody, but personally the only dreams I can remember running in were to hand in homework to the staff room and to find a toilet. Fortunately in my dream, I was unable to find the toilet or I would have urinated in my pants.

Before traveling a person should, apparently, sit on their luggage.

Personally, I would not risk breaking my luggage before travelling.

Putting yourself in another person's shoes.

What does it mean to "put yourself in another person's shoes"? What personal qualities are necessary to be able to see things as someone else does?

Putting yourself in another person's shoes is to consider other people. No matter what thing we do, we should always consider the thoughts, actions and feelings of other people when we do it. We must always aim to find a win-win situation for everyone involved in the matter. When we are able to do so, we command the respect of others.

To be able to see things as someone else does is not difficult. Think of something that happened to you previously that is now happening to that person. That is the best way to understand and emphatize with the person. When in an argument with someone, try to see it from the person's point of view, and be flexible. That person may have his reasons for doing what he does. Respect the person; and you will be able to put yourself in his or her shoes.

Making a fair judgement

Describe an everyday situation in which one person might judge another incorrectly. What things can interfere with making a fair judgement?

In my opinion, making a fair judgement requires you to do 3 things: listen, consider, interpret.

Let us start with listening. When we are making a judgement, for example one that involves 2 parties, we must listen, and empathize with both parties. One must not base their judgement solely on the statement of one party. It is important to be impartial. We should keep in mind what background each party has, but do not let it affect our attitude towards that party. Also, it is important to dismiss whatever personal feelings you have regarding either party. This is essential in making a fair judgement.

Next, we need to consider the evidence. We need to confirm whether the 2 parties are telling the truth. If the evidence contradicts one party's statement, it is important to re-question the party about the discrepancy. Also, other factors need to be taken into account.

Lastly, making a fair judgement requires interpretation. If both parties statements have been verified, it is important to find out who is right and who is wrong.

These, I feel, are the most important steps in making a fair judgement.

My favourite character

We have gone through the story "To Kill A Mockingbird". Now, I would like to introduce my favourite character to you- Atticus Finch.

I am sure that all my classmates feel that Atticus is the most respectable, down-to-earth, polite character. The story shows all his aspects of his qualities, and portrays him as a loving, caring father.

Firstly, he is very polite to everyone. For example, he still greets Mrs Dubose extremely politely, despite her insults and disregards towards him. Such qualities are rare, and difficult to find. Many people would just ignore those who insult and disregard them, and even fall out with them. Thus such a trait of Atticus is very significant in the story; he possesses humility.

Secondly, he is loving, and caring to all, and with compassion. For example, in the courtroom, knowing Mayella Ewell would be hysterical and exasperated, he tried to calm her down. He also expresses the sympathy he feels for Mayella Ewell. Also, another illustration was that even though he was so good at shooting, he rarely ever shot, but when he does, it is because he really needs to, and not for fun.

Thirdly, he had a strong sense of what is right and wrong. Despite the outcry against him for defending a black man, Tom Robinson, he carries on his work, and ignores the insults thrown at him, such as "nigga-lover". He is also unbothered by the fact that a lynch mob might attack him.

Lastly, Atticus possesses this trait I admire the most; he dares to stand out from among others. It was, in a way, a scandal to defend a black man at that time. But Atticus stood firm, as he believed in the truth of the matter; Tom Robinson was innocent. In today's world, everyone wants to be like anyone else; following the trends, doing what others do. Atticus didn't; he stood out prominently and tried his best to defend Tom Robinson. That is why I admire him the most.

Future School

It seems that recently, the debate over Future School has sparked the interest of many involved in the programme itself. It all started when Dr. Hon held an assembly discussion regarding the Future School programme, describing the use of laptops in class. The usage of laptops in class have many strengths, as well as weaknesses.

Firstly, let us start by imagining; you have a science question. You have checked all the sources you have but you cannot figure out the answer to this question. You have asked your classmates but they all have the same problem. What would be the common solution among you and your classmates?

Check google! It gives you masses of sources in less than a second. Although some sources may not be reliable, as long as one possesses the skill to differentiate between reliable and non-reliable sources, it will become a breeze for you to find out the answer! Such technology right at our fingertips can really help us to improve.

Secondly, laptops are extremely welcome among all the students as it helps to enhance learning during lesson time itself. For example, some teachers use the Future School programme to their maximum benefit and productivity. For example, my IH teacher, Ms Yeo, asked us to do a project on google docs. This way, while we were doing our work on the google docs document, she could type in her feedback about our work on the google document. Such an instantaneous feedback would help us improve better, and faster as well.

Thirdly, there is another reason why laptops are extremely welcome: Who in the school does not enjoy the use of laptops over pen and paper? Would you rather complete a worksheet or an online quiz? Would you rather write an essay or type it out? Especially when one has to have constant corrections, typing just requires a little editing. It would be an extreme waste of time to rewrite a whole essay just due to a few mistakes.

However, nothing is perfect. With strengths come weaknesses. Firstly, the internet connection in the school is not very stable. At times, the internet does not work, and the online lesson is cancelled due to such lessons.

Also, during online lessons, even if the internet connection does work, the computers take very long to load. This takes up to ten minutes of the lesson, and thus leaves lesser time on work.

However, as we all know, the gist of the discussion was about students making use of the internet to do things that we are not supposed to do. Even though many precautions have been taken to prevent such actions, such as the placing of mirrors behind classrooms, some students are still taking the chance to go to various game websites.

Even with so many problems and weaknesses, the Future School programme's merits greatly outweigh its demerits. Thus I feel that the Future School programme should be continued, but it must be used with efficiency and control. For example, students could start up their computers immediately after the period before the online lesson is over, so that when the online lesson teacher comes in for the class, our computers are all fully prepared and ready.

Personal Response: to kill a mockingbird

What memories of your own childhood come to mind as you read about Scout's experiences?

I remember, when I was Scout's age, there would always be someone around with me. My parents did not like me to go outside and play as they felt it would be difficult to take care of me, and unsafe. The only times when I went outside were always with both my parents, and also there wasn't very much space for me to move around freely.

However, I did have a few similar experiences; the only time I was without an adult was at school. At that time, my old primary school had a container house beside the field. Few teachers ever used the room. We would often pretend it was a haunted house and try to enter it. It was very interesting as once, the door was left unlocked by a teacher accidentally, and the whole class was scolded for making a mess out of the tables and chairs in the room.

Looking back, I feel that no matter how childish these experiences may be, these will be some of the most joyful experiences I had, and they will last me for a lifetime. If I had the chance, I would want to become a child for a day, and be carefree, without worries, troubles and responsibilities.

Learning about prejudice

Before:
What do I already know about prejudice?
Prejudice is the act of judging someone without actually knowing them personally, such as believing in rumours about a party/group of people. As we know, in the 1800s, there used to be an extremely strong prejudice against blacks in America. The white people in America treated them as if they were the lower class, and also assumed them to be dangerous.
Also, we know that prejudice is wrong, and we should not be prejudiced against other people.

What do I want to learn about prejudice?
I would like to be able to detect cases of prejudice, which we know, comes in different forms. We can then be able to differentiate between what is the truth, and what is really just an opinion. Also,

I want to gain more in-depth knowledge about prejudice as my current knowledge of prejudice is quite basic. Also, I want to learn more historical examples of prejudice as I believe that would aid in my learning about prejudice.

After:
What did I learn about prejudice?
This lesson, we were grouped. We were tasked to produce a mindmap about prejudice. Also, we were asked to make a comic strip using toondoo. It was a very interesting means of teaching us about prejudice.

I learnt that to be prejudiced against someone is to "pre-judge" the person, without understanding who or how the person really is. Prejudice, is in fact, the untrue stereotyping of a certain group of people, to assume the whole group of people to be who they are not.
Prejudice is not something to be taken lightly. If it is not resolved properly, it can lead to serious problems, such as even genocides. All governments in the world acknowledge this fact. There are many examples we see from this, such as the holocaust as well as the Rwanda genocide.

When to use 3rd person and when to use 1st person

When we use the 3rd person in a story, it is usually when we need to illustrate the story from an omniscient view, such as a story where u need to know the thoughts and actions of each of the characters at different points in the story.

However, the 1st person point of view is usually used when the perspective, or point of view is not needed, or that the writer wants to limit it to that character only. This can very effectively help to create suspense and foreboding in the story.

For example, in the series of Sherlock Holmes, Holmes has an assistant by the name of John Watson. Most of the stories are told from the point of Watson. It has to be this way, for the fact that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wants to create suspense; he does not want put it in 1st person point of view, as it would reveal all that was going on in the story, and the story would lose its suspense.

Also, it cannot be from Sherlock Holmes point of view. If we were to write from the point of view of Sherlock Holmes, all that goes on in his head will be revealed to us. This removes the suspense and foreboding from the story.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's decision was undoubtedly a brilliant move and is part of what has made the Sherlock Holmes series so successfull.